Push press
A beginner guide to the push press: the dip, the leg drive, the lockout overhead, common faults and how to scale it from a PVC pipe up to a loaded barbell.
What the push press is
The push press is an overhead lift where you bend the knees slightly, drive hard with the legs to launch the bar off the shoulders, and finish pressing it to straight arms overhead. It trains leg power, timing and shoulder strength together. Beginners learn it with a PVC pipe or empty bar after they can hold a solid strict press position.
Why it is in class
The push press teaches one of the most important lessons in CrossFit: power starts in the legs and travels up through a braced trunk into the arms. It lets you move noticeably more weight overhead than a strict press, and it builds the dip and drive timing you will use in the push jerk, the thruster and the wall ball. In everyday life it shows up whenever you heave something heavy up high: loading a kayak onto a roof rack, lifting a bag of soil onto a high shelf in the garage, or getting a carry-on into an overhead bin with a little bounce from the knees. Learning to use the legs first protects the shoulders from doing all of the work alone.
Points of performance
What a good rep looks like, from setup to finish.
Same rack as the strict press
Bar on the front of the shoulders, hands just outside shoulder width, elbows slightly in front of the bar. Feet about hip width with weight across the whole foot. Brace the stomach and squeeze the glutes before the dip so the trunk stays rigid.
Straight down dip
Bend only the knees and ankles a few inches, keeping the chest upright and the hips under the shoulders. The dip is short and smooth, not a squat. Weight stays in the heels and midfoot. Think of the torso as an elevator moving straight down.
Violent leg drive
Without pausing at the bottom, extend the knees and hips hard to push the bar up off the shoulders. The legs do this job, the arms are still relaxed. Finish on the full foot or rising slightly to the toes, then let the heels settle.
Press through to lockout
As the bar leaves the shoulders, press with the arms to finish the lift. Move the head back for the bar to pass, then through the window. Lock out with the bar over the middle of the foot, the shoulders active and the legs straight.
Catch it on the way down
Lower the bar to the shoulders under control and let the knees soften a little to absorb it, the way you would catch a heavy box. Reset the brace and the feet before the next dip so every rep starts from the same position.
Common beginner faults, and the fix
Dipping forward
What it looks likeThe chest tips forward and the knees stay back as the hips push behind, so the drive sends the bar out in front.
The fixCue knees forward and chest tall. Practice the dip and drive with a pipe in front of a mirror until the torso moves straight down and up.
Pressing too early
What it looks likeThe arms start pushing before the legs have finished, so the leg drive is wasted and the shoulders do all of the work.
The fixThink legs then arms. Practice dip drives where the bar pops off the shoulders without pressing, then add the press once the timing feels automatic.
Pausing at the bottom of the dip
What it looks likeA stop in the bent knee position kills the stretch and makes the drive weak.
The fixMake the dip and the drive one smooth bounce. Cue: down and up, fast at the bottom.
Too deep a dip
What it looks likeThe knees bend into a partial squat and the drive turns slow and grinding.
The fixKeep the dip to a few inches, roughly the depth you would use to jump in place.
Where you start, and where it goes
Every movement in class has a version that fits you today.
Start here
PVC pipe dip and drive drills, then full push press with the pipe, learning the straight down and up timing.
Next step when: Your dip stays upright and the pipe pops off your shoulders from the legs alone on every rep.
Building
Empty training bar or light dumbbells, sets of 5, focusing on legs first and a locked out finish.
Next step when: Your coach sees consistent timing and every rep finishes stacked overhead without leaning back.
Full movement
Barbell push press at a weight noticeably heavier than your strict press, in strength sets or workouts.
Next step when: Heavier sets keep the same upright dip and you are comfortable catching the bar back on the shoulders.
Beyond
Heavier push press singles, cycling the push press in workouts, and moving on to the push jerk.
Next step when: Your coach programs it and you are ready to learn to drop under the bar.
Learning it in your first classes
Most beginners meet the push press after a session or two of strict pressing, because the same rack and lockout carry over. Your first classes will probably spend more time on the dip and drive than on the press itself, often with a PVC pipe. Your coach will watch whether your chest stays upright, whether your knees travel forward, and whether your arms wait for the legs. It is common to feel uncoordinated at first; the timing usually clicks within a few practice sessions. Tell the coach about any knee, back, shoulder or wrist history, and say so if the front rack position is uncomfortable. If anything is painful rather than just hard, stop and ask, and see a doctor or physical therapist if it continues.
What your first class at O-SEA CrossFit is like · How On-Ramp teaches the movements
Questions beginners ask
Is the push press harder than the strict press?
The push press is more technical because it adds timing, but most people can lift more weight with it than with the strict press because the legs start the bar moving. Beginners often find the strict press harder on the muscles and the push press harder on coordination. Both belong in a CrossFit program.
How deep should the dip be in a push press?
The dip in a push press is short, usually just a few inches of knee bend, about the depth you would use to jump straight up. The torso stays upright and the knees travel forward. A dip that becomes a squat slows the drive and pulls the bar forward.
What is the difference between a push press and a push jerk?
In the push press you drive with the legs and then finish the lift by pressing with the arms while standing. In the push jerk you drive with the legs and then drop under the bar, catching it with locked arms in a partial squat. The push jerk lets you handle even more weight overhead.
Why does the bar go forward when I push press?
The bar drifting forward in a push press usually comes from a dip where the chest tips forward and the hips shoot back. The leg drive then sends the bar away from the body. Keep the chest tall, push the knees forward in the dip, and move the head back so the bar can travel straight up.
Can a beginner push press with dumbbells?
Yes. Dumbbell push press is a common version in CrossFit classes and a good way to learn the dip and drive. Hold the dumbbells on the shoulders with elbows forward, dip, drive and press. It also lets your coach see whether one side is stronger or less mobile than the other.
Related movements
Learn the push press with a coach beside you
Every class at O-SEA CrossFit is coached and every movement scales. Your first one is free.